ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Development of North-East Region
Ease of regulations for promotion of development works
This Ministry has been regularly receiving proposals from the North Eastern states, and during the last three years, projects to the tune of Rs.3400 crore have been sanctioned under different schemes and packages of this Ministry like Non-Lapsable Central Pool of Resources , North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme , Karbi Anglong Autonomous Territorial Council , Bodoland Territorial Council , Dima Hasao Autonomous Territorial Council  and Social & Infrastructure Development Fund .
Obtaining regulatory clearances is the responsibility of the State Government. The State Government of Mizoram has informed about one project of Solid Waste Management at Lunglei, sanctioned by this Ministry, being held up due to Environment Clearance. No other State from the North Eastern Region has informed about any project sanctioned by this Ministry being delayed on account of regulatory reasons.
This information was provided by the Union Minister of State  Development of North-Eastern Region , MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
“Choose Life, Not Tobacco: Tobacco causes 1 death every 8 seconds in India”
“8 out of 10 girls are not interested in marrying smokers”
“More than 34% of children are unaware of the harmful effects of tobacco”
PIB observes World No Tobacco Day
Choose life, not tobacco: this is the message delivered by doctor and anti-tobacco activist, Dr. Ulhas Wagh during the session about “Ill-effects of tobacco consumption” held in Press Information Bureau, Mumbai today. Officers and staff of PIB, Accountant General and Central Public Works Department  were present on the occasion.
Dr. Wagh informed the audience that remarkable progress has been made in global tobacco control since MPOWER was introduced a decade ago as a tool to help implement the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control .
Elaborating on the nature of tobacco use, causes, harmful effects and remedial measures, Dr. Wagh said:
“Tobacco causes 1 death every 8 seconds in India and 5,000 children begin consuming tobacco every day. Unlike in earlier days, adolescent girls have started smoking, which is a very bad sign. Various reasons like learning from role models, peer pressure, stress, desire for mood elevation, curiosity, urge to appear sophisticated and need for relaxation after hard work result in people taking up tobacco consumption. Over 14% children use some form of tobacco and over 34% of children are unaware of its harmful effects. Tobacco contains 4,000 harmful chemicals, some of which are Nicotine, Ammonia, Cadmium, Stearic acid, Methanol, Carbon monoxide, Butane.
Due to tobacco use, various life-threatening illnesses occur. The main diseases among them are Plaque in coronary Artery, Heart disease, Smoker's cough-inflamed bronchial tube, Dental problems, Damage of gums, Staining of teeth, Premature attrition and losing of teeth, Cancers of mouth, lip cancer and cheek cancer.
Smoking is not as “in” thing as it is made out to be; 7out of 10 girls don't like dating smokers, 9 out of 10 girls don't find smokers attractive, 8 out of 10 are not interested in marrying smokers.
The Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products  Act, 2003 or COTPA, was passed in 2003 and came into force from 2008. However, tobacco use cannot be completely curbed with legislative measures alone; awareness and conscious efforts by society and users are necessary to remove the vicious grip of tobacco over society.”
Director General , Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Shri R.N. Mishra; Additional Director General , M/o I&B, Shri D. J. Narain and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.
Ministry of Labour & Employment
Shri Bhupender Yadav emphasises importance of convergence and synergy among different Organizations for a holistic approach towards Labour welfare
Union Minister for Labour & Employment and Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Shri Bhupender Yadav has stressed upon the importance of the convergence among different Organizations under Ministry of Labour & Employment.
He was presiding over the concluding session of a two days event organized on 16th and 17th May at V.V. Giri National Labour Institute, Noida.
Shri Yadav said that synergy among all the organizations of the Ministry at the grass-roots level will help in bringing about a holistic approach towards welfare of the labour in the country. The brain-storming session organized to develop an “Action Plan for Convergence”, was attended by 50 middle level management field officers of the organizations of Ministry of
Labour & Employment namely, ESIC, EPFO, DGLW, CLC, DTNBWED, DGFASLI, VVGNLI, DGMS, LB and DGE.
After detailed deliberations, the participants came up with an Action Plan which was presented to the Minister. Shri Yadav while interacting with the participants appreciated the initiative of the Ministry and the action plan. He emphasized that this kind of interaction should be held on regular basis not only at the headquarters but also at the regional level. He said that this will be a step in the direction of whole of government approach as various verticals of the Ministry will come together and work in an integrated manner for welfare of labour.
Speaking on the occasion, Ms. Arti Ahuja, Secretary  said that this kind of common platform is very useful to reach out to the labour particularly unorganized workers and ensure last mile delivery of the benefits of the welfare schemes.
Special Service and Features
Special Summer Online Camp on Philately for Children
Philately being “The King of hobbies” is referred to as collection and study of postage stamps have nurtured the young minds. By becoming a stamp collector, one can learn about the multifarious roles of postage stamps as it has great educational importance. To sow the Stamp Collection as a hobby in the minds of Children, Philatelic Bureau, Anna Road HPO, Chennai 600 002 is organizing a “Summer Camp” through On-line mode in the month of May 2022 in the following Sessions.
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SI.No
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Sessions
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Period of Camp
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Timings
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1.
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Batch 1
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02.05.2022 to 04.05.2022
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10.30 to 12.45 hours
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2.
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Batch 2
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09.05.2022 to 11.05.2022
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10.30 to 12.45 hours
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3.
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Batch 3
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16.05.2022 to 18.05.2022
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10.30 to 12.45 hours
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4.
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Batch 4
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23.05.2022 to 25.05.2022
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10.30 to 12.45 hours
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5.
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Batch 5
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30.05.2022 to 01.06.2022
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10.30 to 12.45 hours
Philatelic activities like Introduction to Philately as hobby, Preparation of Stamp wxhibits, Letter writing exercises, A short film on field visit to post office etc., will be the part of the summer Camp.
Eligibility Criteria:
- Interested Children between age 8 to 14  may enroll for this camp by paying a registration fee of Rs.250/- per individual. The allotment for the session will depend on the motto “First Come First Serve Only”. The Modification for the Session will not be encouraged.
- Entry fee should be sent through Cheque / Demand Draft Only – Drawn in favour of The Chief Postmaster, Anna Road HPO, Chennai 600 002. The entry fee should be sent along with the Application. Through speed post or Registered post only, addressed to “The Chief Postmaster, Anna Road HPO, Chennai 600 002”. Last date for receipt of Entry fee and application is 25.04.2022 and the late entry will not be accepted.
- Entry fee will be utilized for the following:
a. For opening of Philately, Deposit Account in the name of Participant, through which New release of Commemorative Stamps will be dispatched to the participant until it is exhausted. The account can be Recharged further by the Children in due course.
b. Besides, the Philatelic materials required for Summer Camp will be sent to the Participant by Post.
- Batches / Sessions will be allotted by this end and will be communicated through email along with the “Link for webinar” created for Summer Camp.
- On Completion of Summer Camp, Participation Certificate will be sent to the Participants by post, according to a press release issued by Chief Postmaster, Anna Road HPO, Chennai 600 002.
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Finance Commission
The Fifteenth Finance Commission holds meeting with the Ministry of Jal Shakti
(The 15th Finance Commission headed by Chairman, Shri N.K. Singh alongwith its Members and senior officials today held a meeting with the Ministry of Jal Shakti headed by Minister, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. The Ministry presented details of its fund requirements specially for the Jal Jeevan Mission – in a mission mode with 2024 as its deadline.
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi in a meeting chaired by him in March, 2018 had directed that the 15th Finance Commission be requested to direct the States to earmark certain amount of funds for specific sectors and interventions in Health and Sanitation. As a follow-up the Ministry of Jal Shakti has today presented to the Finance Commission its achievements and its requirements thus far.
According to the Ministry, the Jal Jeevan Mission  is different from the earlier National Rural Drinking Water Programme  approach, as it involves the Gram Panchayats in planning and implementation of the project. Now the funding in JJM is against outcomes. The good performing State draw more funds while the poor performers loose share. Further, there is more focus on sustainability and there is community involvement to finance and manage O&M. Also there is emphasis on IEC for water conservation.
The Ministry has projected that the total estimated cost of 100% Piped Water Supply  is 7.88 crores . In this the Ministry has proposed an amount of Rs. 50,000 crores through 15th Finance Commission through Gram Panchayats for O&M and source sustainability. The Ministry has stressed upon the need for Water Sanitation and Hygiene  financing through the 15th Finance Commission.
The Department of Water resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation also made a presentation before the Commission on its fund requirements.
The Commission has noted the details presented by the Minister and his team and has promised to carefully look into all the recommendations in their report to the Union government.
Special Service and Features
Campus placements in Pondicherry University: 48 students offered jobs with Rs 3.6 lakh annual package
The Placement Cell of Department of English, Pondicherry University organized a campus recruitment drive in the Silver Jubilee campus on 12th June 2022 and nearly 100 students of final year PG courses participated in it. Devcare Solutions, a software company with 7 branches in India and the United States expressed their keen interest in this recruitment drive. Around 90 Post graduate students from Pondicherry University and various other institutions registered for the recruitment drive. Of this, 48 students have bagged offers that carry the salary of ₹ 3.6 lakh per annum. The efforts taken by the Department brought fruitful results as the company and the students were very enthusiastic about this recruitment drive. “The successful completion of the campus recruitment is an indication of the high standards of the learning environment created collaboratively by the faculty and students at Pondicherry University. We also would like to thank Devcare Solutions, our recruitment partners for their continued faith and confidence in our students. Successful placement of the students is a testimony of quality education and effective academic-industry cooperation,” said Prof T Marx, Head of the Department of English. Prof Clement S Lourdes, Dean, School of Humanities who inaugurated the Campus Placement said that “the objective of this drive was to provide a rare opportunity to the students to get recruited during their study period itself and to provide them a new experience in the campus. This is just the beginning, in future, more multinational companies will be invited and students will be given a golden opportunity for employment and career development.” Prof. K Reshmi and Prof S Visaka Devi, the Placement Cell Coordinators were also present on this occasion.
Interestingly, all the students performed very well in all the three rounds of interviews. Janaki Raman, Senior HR Manager of Devcare Solutions attributed to the successful performance of candidates to the outcome based curriculum and placement training of Pondicherry University on the rapidly changing employment scenario. Earlier, 7 students of English Department were given offers of English Language teaching that carry the salary of ₹ 2.5 lakh per annum at Don Bosco School, Pattukottai.
Competition Commission of India
CCI approves acquisition of additional shareholding of HDFC Life Insurance Company Limited by Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited
The Competition Commission of India  approves proposed combination involving acquisition of additional shareholding of HDFC Life Insurance Company Limited by Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited.
Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited  is a public limited company incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956 and its shares are listed on the National Stock Exchange of India Limited and BSE Limited. It is a housing finance company registered with the National Housing Bank and the Reserve Bank of India and is primarily engaged in the business of providing finance to individuals, corporates and developers for the purchase, construction, development and repair of houses, apartments and commercial properties in India.
HDFC Life Insurance Company Limited  is a life insurance company registered with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India. It offers a range of individual and group life insurance solutions including participating, non-participating and unit linked insurance policies. Its product portfolio comprises of various life insurance and investment products such as protection, pension, savings, investment and annuity.
The proposed combination pertains to the acquisition by HDFC Limited of certain additional shareholding of HDFC Life through one or more on-market purchases over stock exchanges  such that HDFC Limited  and the surviving amalgamated entity i.e. HDFC Bank Limited   will hold over 50% of the shareholding of HDFC Life in compliance with Indian banking laws.
Detailed order of the CCI will follow.
Prime Minister's Office
Prime Minister’s meeting with the President of the Republic of Korea
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi met H.E. Mr. Yoon Suk Yeol, President of the Republic of Korea on 20 May 2023 in Hiroshima on the sidelines of G-7 Summit.
The leaders reviewed the progress of India – Republic of Korea Special Strategic Partnership and discussed ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation, particularly in areas of trade & investment, high technology, IT hardware manufacturing, defense, semiconductors and culture.
The leaders noted that both countries are celebrating 50th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations this year, and agreed to enhance their cooperation further.
President Yoon Suk Yeol appreciated Prime Minister’s leadership of the G-20 and conveyed his support. Prime Minister looked forward to President Yoon's visit to India for the G20 Leaders’ Summit in September this year.
Prime Minister welcomed Republic of Korea's Indo-Pacific strategy and the importance attached to India in it.
The leaders also had a positive exchange of views on regional developments.
Ministry of Corporate Affairs
Sanction for prosecution accorded in 366 cases in violation of CSR provisions
Whenever any violation of CSR provisions is reported, action against such non-compliant Companies are initiated as per provisions of the Act after due examination of records and following due process of law.
This was stated by Shri Anurag Singh Thakur, Union Minister of State for Finance & Corporate Affairs, in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.
The Minister said that all CSR related defaults are compoundable. So far, sanction for prosecution has been accorded in 366 cases. Of these, 148 applications for compounding have been made and 75 cases have been compounded.
Giving more information, the Minister stated that as per input provided by the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs , following studies have been conducted:
- Formative research on Corporate Social Responsibility  implementation under Section 135 of Companies Act, 2013: Coverage and emerging issues; and
- Study on CSR expenditure in 100 tribal and backwards districts of the country.
Giving more details, the Minister further said that the CSR is a Board driven process and the Board of the company is empowered to plan, decide, execute and monitor the CSR activities of the company based on the recommendation of its CSR Committee. The CSR architecture is disclosure based and CSR mandated companies are required to file details of CSR expenditure annually in MCA21 registry. The existing legal provisions such as mandatory disclosures, accountability of the CSR Committee and the Board, provisions for statutory audit of accounts of the company etc. provide sufficient safeguards.
Ministry of Defence
Indian Naval Teams Mobilised to Provide Assistance in Flood Affected Areas in Kolhapur and Sangli Districts
Five rescue teams of the Indian Navy's Western Naval Command have been mobilised on Tuesday evening for Kolhapur and Sangli districts in response to a State Administration request for assistance to local populace affected by heavy rains in the area. The rescue teams were initially planned to be airlifted to the locations but adverse weather did not permit helicopter flying.
The teams then proceeded to Pune by road overnight, equipped with rescue gear and rubber inflatable boats and will be airlifted to affected areas as requested by the State Administration. Five additional Indian Navy flood relief teams are being prepared to be airlifted to the affected areas from Mumbai on Wednesday morning.
Meanwhile, Goa Naval Area has also deployed four teams of divers for rescue operations at Kolhapur. The rescue teams, along with diving equipment were flown from INAS Hansa at Goa early this morning for Kolhapur airfield, where they will join up with other teams from Western Naval Command, Mumbai, NDRF teams and the District Collector for further coordination of rescue operations.
Ministry of Defence
INDIAN NAVY PARTICIPATES IN INDIA, SINGAPORE AND THAILAND TRILATERAL MARITIME EXERCISE ‘SITMEX’
Indian Naval Ship  Karmuk, an indigenously built Missile Corvette is participating in the 3rd edition of India, Singapore and Thailand Trilateral Maritime Exercise SITMEX – 21, from 15 to 16 Nov 21 in Andaman Sea. Republic of Singapore Navy  is being represented by RSS Tenacious,a Formidable Class Frigate and Royal Thai Navy  by His Majesty’s Thailand Ship  Thayanchon, a Khamrosin Class Anti-submarine Patrol Craft.
SITMEX is being conducted annually since 2019 with an aim to enhance mutual inter-operability and imbibing best practices between Indian Navy , RSN and RTN. The maiden edition of SITMEX was hosted by IN off Port Blair in September 2019. RSN hosted the second edition of the exercise in November 2020. The 2021 edition of the exercise is being hosted by RTN in Andaman Sea.
The exercise is being conducted as a ‘non-contact, at sea only’ exercise in view of COVID-19 restrictions and highlights growing synergy, coordination and cooperation in the maritime domain between the three friendly navies. The two days of maritime drills will witness the three navies engaged in a various tactical exercises including naval manoeuvres and surface warfare drills.
SITMEX-21 will fortify the long-standing bond of friendship and further enhance the cooperation between the participating navies towards augmenting the overall maritime security in the region.
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Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
World Suicide Prevention Day celebrated at AIIMS, Kalyani in West Bengal
Kolkata, 10 September, 2021
All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Kalyani, in West Bengal, under Ministry of Health and Family Welfare today celebrated World Suicide Prevention Day. The executive director of AIIMS Kalyani, Dr Ramji Singh inaugurated a Mood Clinic for the patients who are suffering from depression.
Head of the department, Psychiatry Dr Sukanta Sarkar informed that as per world suicide record 2019, the rate of suicide report is 10 per 100,00 population. The experts called for increased awareness and picking of the early warning signs like behavioral symptoms, substance use and other mood problems in highly vulnerable age groups like youth and those with family history of psychiatric illness.
On this occasion the staff of AIIMS Kalyani arranged a skit for creating awareness among patients and their relatives.
Ministry of Cooperation
National Council for Cooperative Training
National Council for Cooperative Training , an autonomous society under the Ministry of Cooperation, has been mandated, inter-alia, to formulate overall policies and plans relating to training, assess the needs of training for personnel, design andorganize training programs, establish and manage training institutes and also conduct research studies in the cooperative sector.
NCCT also conducts collaborative programs with the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority, Securities and Exchange Board of India, Directorate General Resettlement, etc. in the cooperative sector.
Since its inception in 1974, NCCT has conducted a total of 52,423 training and member education programs and trained about 14.9 lakh personnel till 2021-22.
The number of programs conducted and the number of participants trained by NCCT in the last three years and the current year are as under
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|
Year
|
|
Achievement
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|
No. of Programs
|
|
No. of Participants
|
|
2019-2020
|
|
1,783
|
|
60,881
|
|
2020-2021
|
|
1,100
|
|
40,288
|
|
2021-2022
|
|
1,598
|
|
62,774
|
|
2022-2023

|
|
2,624
|
|
1,44,879
The numbers during 2020-21 and 2021-22 were affected due to the then prevailing Covid-19 pandemic
This was stated by the Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha.